Photo du Jour: The Sphinx Under a Moon-Lit Sky – Split, Croatia

About 1,700 years ago, Roman Emperor Diocletian spirited away a set of granite sphinxes from Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. The mythical creatures found a new home in the emperor’s retirement palace in present-day Split, Croatia, where we are lucky to be enjoying the winter months.

A few nights ago while strolling the streets of Split, we found ourselves captivated by the sight of this sphinx illuminated by moonlight. The sculpture, which guards the palace’s Peristyle, is the only intact one that remains in Split. A headless version can be found in front of the Temple of Jupiter (which was later converted into a Baptistery), whereas another is housed in the city’s museum.

We remarked that today the palace is roughly the same age to us as the sphinxes were to the emperor who so coveted them.

Well Tricia, you’ve done it again – totally knocked my socks off with this stunning photo. Wow! I have great difficulty capturing a decent photo of the moon, and you did it flawlessly. Just beautiful. Happy New Year to you and Shawn. We have so enjoyed getting to know you this year and look forward to more of your wonderful posts. :) ~ Terri & James

Terri & James, thank you, or as they say in Croatia, hvala! :) This was one of those nights where we wish we’d brought the tripod along, but after almost forgetting it in India and deciding between yoga mats and the tripod for this limited-packing trip, we opted for the former. :)

Shawn often hears me mention you, so we’ve both enjoyed crossing paths with you this past year as well. It would be fun if they could cross in person this year. Where are you off to next?

Terri, the planning stage is always a fun one. Do you ever employ the spin the globe and point technique? (On a serious note, our friend once had Dengue Fever and said the pain was excruciating; travel does make one thankful for medical cures, and at the same time makes one so much more aware of the plight so many of the world’s citizens do, but shouldn’t face.)

I just connected with a fellow traveler named Frank (co-author of blog BBQboy) who was inquiring about apartment hunting in Dubrovnik & Split after reading my mammoth Split walking tour post. :-) I offered him advice for Split & Trogir, but sent him your way for pointers on Dubrovnik. Hope you don’t mind and that you’re having a splendid weekend.